Booths in which paint is sprayed on articles such as automobiles, appliances and the like are old and well-known. To improve the quality of the painting of the articles and to protect equipment and the health and safety of operators or other persons in the booth, a stream of air is circulated through the booth to pick up and remove atomized paint particles which do not adhere to the articles being painted. Before this air can be discharged to the atmosphere or recirculated through the booth, it is necessary to clean it by removing the particles of paint entrained therein.
Many methods and devices have been previously developed for cleaning the air by removing a portion of the particles of paint from it. These devices are complicated, expensive, noisy, relatively large and usually do not remove a sufficient quantity of paint particles from the air to meet the clean air requirements of many industries. For example, the automotive industry requires extremely clean air having not more than 3.0 grains of paint particles per 1,000 dry standard cubic feet (DSCF) of air.